Totally agree. This is the essence of the 'broken windows' approach to crime prevention. Anecdotally (I live in north london) a large proportion of burglaries a

Totally agree. This is the essence of the 'broken windows' approach to crime prevention. Anecdotally (I live in north london) a large proportion of burglaries are committed by a small number of individuals, and in fact when a single gang were eventually apprehended a few years back it put an end to a serious spate of break-ins. When a mate was burgled in his area some years before that, the police found the perpetrator but did not pursue to prosecution as there was a sudden reprioritisation to anti-terrorist work. There is a disconnect between police priorities and the helplessness ordinary people feel when crimes that violate their homes and sense of security are not taken seriously.